Holy Buckets! Did anyone else ever think That Clay Person would emerge as a possible Ace for the Boston Red Sox? OK, way back when he threw the no-hitter in his rookie year, we all had high hopes–but then we dealt with 4 seasons of “just on the brink of brilliance and destruction, depending on the day”. Could this FINALLY be the Clay Buchholz we have been waiting for?

If his line is any indication of things to come, I think it’s a good sign: 7 innings, throwing 103 pitches, 69 for strikes, giving up 1 run on 5 hits (including a solo shot to Logan Morrison, which was the only run allowed in the contest) while walking 2 and striking out 1…

Not ready to head over to TopBet Sportsbook quite yet, but I think the most telling thing is that when Jose Reyes got a lead-off triple in the 1st inning, he didn’t buckle–he proceeded to strike out the side…and not letting the mental beat him is HUGE for That Clay Person…

I love Kevin Youkilis. While sometimes I think his intensity is a bit much, I admire the fact that he cares that much. But this whining about the umpires Needs. To. Stop. It makes you look bad, and I am sure it will not help your cause with any of the umps, if you continue down this path.

On Monday night, he intimated that the calls against him were personal: “…That’s twice. There was a 1-0 pitch, the ball was inside, he called it a strike, changes the whole at-bat. Called another pitch on me that I thought was horrible. One was a ball at a big part of the game, the other one was a guy showing he doesn’t like me at all. So, what are you going to do…I don’t know if he doesn’t like me or whatever but you’ve got to move on from it.”

Yeah, you do Youk, and your first step is not to say this kind of stuff to REPORTERS. One thing I learned, having done A LOT of interviews in my life: Reporters are not your FRIEND. You do not CONFIDE in them. They are there for the STORY…

It’s official: Marlon Byrd is no longer a member of the Red Sox, having been released yesterday after being DFA’ed over the weekend…so basically, the Sox traded Michael Bowden to Theo for nothing. Anyone else you want to send over the Cubs, Ben?

Speaking of the Cubs, Sunday night should be interesting. The Sox will be in Theo’s house, and Tito will be calling the game for ESPN–a first time convergence since the fall of last year…

Speaking of convergence–with about 6 weeks to the July 31st trade deadline, the discussions are already starting about what to do with this Red Sox Team. Should anything possible be done to really push for them to try and continue to contend in 2012, or should they blow up the whole team, bring in all the kids, and rebuild around them. At this point, it feels like a little too much “let’s wait and see what happens”–and that is fine…but not when there are 100 games left in the season, and the Sox are still 2 games under .500, and 6.5 games behind in the AL East, and 5.5 in the Wild Card.

I personally don’t think they have what it takes to go the distance as constructed–and waiting around until after the All-Star break for (possibly) Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury and everyone else to come in and save the day is not reasonable or practical. At least if the kids played all the time, it would be less painful that what we are seeing now. Because unless Ben does something brilliant, crazy, and completely risky (e.g.: a Nomar kind of deal), this team is going nowhere–FAST…

And because the Sox don’t have ENOUGH players who are represented by Scott Boras, looks like they are adding another one–and with the extra bonus that he was coveted by the Skanks: 18 year old Taiwanese shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin. arguable one of the top free agents on the market. While the deal is not finalized, it said to be a deal worth $2.05 million–the most ever for a player from that country…

Remember Ryan Kalish? The perennial outfielder I predict will come up and have a monster season? This could be the year. After losing all of last year to shoulder and arm woes, he is hitting the cover off the ball in Pawtucket (12 for 28) as he finishes up his rehab. He could join Sox as early as next Wednesday. Yes, please…

Coming up: Felix Doubront, coming off his worst start of the year against the National on Friday (6 runs in 4 innings) takes the mound in the rubber match of this series against the Marlins, hoping to get his 7th win of the 2012 campaign. He is opposed by Ricky Nolasco. 1st pitch 7:10pm…